'Chansons de Baudelaire'  Concert

Come spend an evening with the lush and transgressive poetry of Charles Baudelaire, who shocked the world in 1857 with Les Fleurs du Mal (The Flowers of Evil), groundbreaking poems that, although formally elegant in structure, fearlessly probe the shadow side of eroticism, dissipation, drugs, and sin. He suffered legal prosecution, censorship, opprobrium, and poverty, and died in abject misery, little knowing that his poetry would someday inspire hundreds of settings in styles ranging from cabaret to classical to jazz to death metal, as well as influencing literature, theater, film, and popular culture. Chansons de Baudelaire, a salon-style concert, will offer a bouquet of Les Fleurs in song settings from the late 19th and early 20th century, some by familiar composers like Debussy, Fauré and Duparc, but also introducing haunting settings by lesser-known composers including Joseph Jongen, Raoul Laparra, René Lenormand, Rita Strohl, and others who fell under the spell of this intoxicating poetry. Readings from Baudelaire’s intimate letters and journal entries will further illuminate the tormented psyche of the man who has had such a profound effect on literature and the arts to this day.

Performances for 'Chansons de Baudelaire' Concert are 6.13 at 7:30 pm & 6.15 at 7:30 pm. (Under date and time, click on more dates to access additional performance dates).

dell'Arte Opera Ensemble's June festival, themed “Wages of Sin,” kicks off with an extraordinary concert featuring prominent dell'Arte Opera alumni in their favorite repertoire of songs and arias! Our opening concert is followed by a double bill of Kurt Weill’s THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS (libretto by Bertolt Brecht in the English translation by W.H. Auden and Chester Kallman) and Robert Nelson’s TICKETS, PLEASE! with a libretto by Sidney L. Berger after the short story by D.H. Lawrence. A curated song program, CHANSONS DE BAUDELAIRE: Les Fleurs du Mal will receive two performances, and the festival will also include GUILTY PLEASURES, a cabaret program of songs by Weill, Cole Porter, and others. Programming curated and prepared by Artistic Director Chris Fecteau.

For any inquiries or further information, please contact tickets@dellarteopera.org.